Puppet Masters
In the latest installment of a long-running dispute between the two nations, Colonel Gaddafi called Switzerland a 'Mafia' state and repeated a previous call for it to be divided up among France, Italy and Germany, according to the interview published by German news weekly Der Spiegel.
'Switzerland is a state that stands apart from the world community,' the respected Hamburg-based magazine quoted him as saying.
Colonel Gaddafi said Switzerland was a haven for large scale money laundering, where laws allowing assisted suicide are used as a cover for the assassination of rich foreigners with Swiss bank accounts.
Der Spiegel quoted Colonel Gaddafi as saying: 'Switzerland claims the people in question wanted to commit suicide. But in truth it was a means of getting hold of their money.'
"Yes, we are satisfied with the situation," he said. "Humanitarian corridors are functioning, but, regrettably, terrorists do not give civilians a possibility to leave Idlib."
Comment:
- Lavrov: Russia to create humanitarian corridors in Idlib, prevent civilian casualties
- Erdogan: Working with Russia 'really important' to prevent Idlib 'massacre'
- Lavrov: Russia and Turkey have 'full political understanding' over Idlib
- Russian FM: Turkish drones & extra troops to patrol Idlib after making deal with Moscow
- Turkey now controls the fate of Syrian jihadists in Idlib

Once a plane is spotted at an airdrome, the reinforced radio-electronic warfare system automatically assigns a target number to it and offers various options
According to Mikheyev, to reinforce the system's aviation component specialized jammers could be deployed along with ground-based systems. "It is also planned to increase the naval taskforce with electronic warfare and air defense systems," he said.

Russian Defence Ministry receive modernized 2S4 Tulpan self-propelled mortars
The modernization of Russia's "big guns" - the 2S4 Tyulpan (Tulip) 240-millimeter mortar and the 2S7 Pion 203-millimeter howitzer - has attracted the attention of US military analysts. The Cold War weapons are being refurbished to adapt them for modern warfare. The program of modernization started about a year ago. Nothing like it is being done anywhere else in the world. All in all, more than 400 Tyulpans and the same number of Pions have been produced. The exact number of artillery guns that will be added to the arsenal after the modernization has not been released, but the upgrade is in full swing. Analysis of the Russian military press provides some clues as to why the old big guns are back in the ranks.
Comment: Russia has viewed the 20-year-long NATO encroachment towards its borders with justified alarm. Re-arming and developing new defense systems is the only logical response.
- Russian deputy prime minister announces plans for Armed Forces to introduce 6 unrivaled weapons
- Russia successfully develops and tests radio-electronic weapon unmatched anywhere in the world
- Russia tests new weapons as part of strategic missile forces drills
- The Saker: Political implications of Russia's new weapons
The decision follows an incident in the southwestern part of the country, Kosovo special forces reportedly entered. Some 60 troops took positions near the dam on Gazivoda Lake, which hosts hydroelectric power station, according to local media.
Serbian Interior Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic said the police were also put on high alert following the Albanian "attack" in the north of Kosovo and Metohija and the "arrests of Serbs," who did not commit any crime.
Kosovo dismissed the claims of occupying the area and said there were no arrests, according to the local deputy police commander, Besim Hoti, as cited by RTS. He added that the forces were at Gazivoda for a "single visit."
Comment: 'Kosovo special forces' is euphemism for Kosovo Liberation Army, itself a made-up term for heroin-smuggling ethnic Albanian jihadi terrorists.
See also: Serbian President Vucic accuses West of 'brutal meddling' in Bosnia-Herzegovina's elections
Trying to preserve their "self-proclaimed status as world leaders," some Western powers have no qualms about putting pressure on others, Foreign Minister Lavrov told the UN General Assembly on Friday. He didn't name the countries, but said they use "political blackmail, economic pressure and brute force."
"The world has to pay a high price for these selfish ambitions by a tiny group of countries."Lavrov, who was once Russia's envoy to the UN for a decade, told the gathering that the culture of diplomacy and negotiating is being replaced by diktats and one-sided sanctions put in place without UN approval. Such restrictions that extend to dozens of countries "are either unlawful or inefficient," the minister noted, citing the US' decades-long blockade of Cuba.
On Friday, Pompeo ordered a "temporary relocation" of US diplomats and the closure of the consulate in the southern Iraqi city, citing "increasing and specific threats" to their safety.
Pompeo blamed the government of Iran, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force, and "militias facilitated by and under the control and direction of" Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani for "repeated incidents of indirect fire" and threats to the US consulate in Basra and the embassy in Baghdad over the past 24 hours.
The US will hold Iran "directly responsible" for any harm to Americans or US facilities in Iraq and elsewhere, "whether perpetrated by Iranian forces directly or by associated proxy militias," Pompeo said in a statement. "I have made clear that Iran should understand that the US will respond promptly and appropriately to any such attacks."
Comment: By this standard, the US has complete culpability for its proxies as well.
Comment: Pompeo is announcing the parameters and 'red line' for war with Iran. He knows a US 'retaliation strike' will escalate. Has he thrown down the gauntlet?
While Kavanaugh may be an ostensible supporter of the Second Amendment, his record indicates that he all but cannot stand the Fourth and he's not that big a fan of the First either.
While the allegations against Kavanaugh should certainly be investigated - no matter how they are being spun by the left and the right - he shouldn't even be in this position based solely on his previous record. But no one is talking about this. Instead, the left and right are involved in a mudslinging orgy of victim shaming and kangaroo courts.
According to this Supreme Court nominee, he thinks it is just fine and dandy for police and government to track you, spy on you, and dig through your personal life - without a warrant. On multiple occasions, Kavanaugh has been the lone voice when it comes supporting the state's rights to warrantlessly spy on its citizens.
Comment: The police state is all but clinched. The fought-for constitutional rights of Americans have become just words on a piece of paper. The power to reverse the atrophy has silently slipped away.
- California lawmakers cripple NSA with 4th Amendment Protection Act
- Bye bye 4th Amendment: Wisconsin Supreme Court rules cops can enter homes and forcibly seize evidence without a warrant
- Virginia federal court rules that government can access personal computers with no warrant or probable cause
- Plot to overthrow the 4th Amendment? Yahoo caught working with secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court
28 September 2018
18:05 GMT
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has started his speech before the UN General Assembly.
18:05 GMT
International relations are undergoing a difficult period of change, during which two opposing trends are locked in a conflict, Lavrov said. One is the rise of new centers of political and economic power, who seek national development according to their own preferences, he added.
Comment: A master statesman, Lavrov is succinct and fair in his comments and criticisms. Note: The time numerics above do not correspond to this video.
See also: Lavrov's UN speech: Drop the diktats and try diplomacy
"Venezuela is a mess," Trump said on Friday. "The place needs to be cleaned up, and people need to be taken care of." The comment came during a photo-op at the White House with the President of Chile Sebastian Piñera, who is visiting Washington.
Shortly before that, Pence retweeted a photo of Haley addressing a gathering of Venezuelan dissidents in New York on Thursday through a megaphone. "We'll continue to hold the regime accountable until democracy is restored," the vice-president wrote.
Comment: US sets the stage, cues negative circumstances into motion, stands back and watches it play out, admonishes and threatens the leaders on the results. Just another failed country according to plan.













Comment: Was this the spat that determined Gaddafi's fate and got a host of EU countries to royally shoot themselves in both feet by invading Libya and unleashing a tsunami of migrants?